How to transcribe WhatsApp voice messages
Read one WhatsApp voice message as text with the built-in transcripts, or turn every voice note in a chat into text at once, dated and in order.
· 6 min read
For one voice message, WhatsApp can do it for you: turn on Voice message transcripts under Settings > Chats, then press and hold the message and tap Transcribe. For every voice message in a chat, export the chat with media and transcribe the whole file at once. Each transcript then sits under the date and time the message was sent.
Which way fits depends on how many voice messages you have, and what you need the text for.
Transcribe one voice message inside WhatsApp
WhatsApp added voice message transcripts in November 2024. They stay off until you turn them on.
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Chats > Voice message transcripts.
- Turn transcripts on and choose your transcript language.
- Open a chat, press and hold a voice message, and tap Transcribe. On Android, you may need to open the menu first.
WhatsApp says the transcripts are generated on your phone, so not even WhatsApp can hear or read your messages. You can change the language later under Settings > Chats > Transcript language. Turning transcripts off resets that choice.
This is the quickest way when you are on a train, in a waiting room, or can't play a three-minute voice note right now. It also helps if you are deaf or hard of hearing.
Which languages it supports
The list depends on your phone. For iPhone, WhatsApp's help pages list English, Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and Turkish. Which of them you get depends on your iOS version. On Android, transcripts launched with English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Hindi. In its announcement, WhatsApp said it plans to add more.
If no transcript appears, check the language first. One reason WhatsApp's help pages give for a missing transcript is a voice message in a language it doesn't support. If your family switches between Portuguese and English, set the transcript language to the one the voice message is in.
Where it stops
The built-in transcripts work one message at a time, on the phone. That suits the voice note that just arrived. It does not suit a chat with 300 voice notes from the past two years. You would press, hold and tap 300 times, and you would still be reading them one by one.
Transcribe every voice message in a chat
For a whole chat, start with WhatsApp's own Export chat. It makes one file with the conversation as text and every voice message as an audio file.
- Export the chat with media. On iPhone, open the chat, tap the contact or group name, then Export chat > With all media (older versions say Attach Media). On Android, open the chat, tap the three dots, then More > Export chat > Include media. The export guide has every step.
- Open the .zip in your browser. Choose it on the upload page, on your phone or a computer. LogMyChat first shows a free overview, with nothing uploaded: who writes, how much, how many voice messages there are and how many minutes they last, and the exact price. To judge the quality, have one voice message transcribed free. Only that recording is sent.
- Unlock the chat. One payment covers every voice message and audio file in it. Each one is transcribed in the language that was spoken and placed under the date and time it was sent.
Without media there is nothing to transcribe: voice messages only show up as "audio omitted" on iPhone or <Media omitted> on Android.
The result is a numbered record. Every message gets a number like M000412, a date and a time. A voice note your mother sent at 19:04 on 12 March appears where it was in the conversation, between the texts around it, with her words written out. It is also a way to keep a parent's or grandparent's voice notes as a family record.
You can search the transcripts together with the typed messages, filter by person, type or month, and download everything as PDF, TXT, CSV or HTML with the transcripts included.
What it costs
There is no subscription. You pay once per chat, and the price depends on its size: a chat lands in the smallest size that fits both its messages and its voice minutes. A chat with 3,200 messages and 38 minutes of voice is a Small chat, $6. The same chat with 70 minutes of voice is a Medium chat, $12. The pricing page lists every size.
What gets sent
The overview needs no upload. When you unlock, only the message text and the voice and audio files are sent, over HTTPS. Photos, videos, stickers and documents never leave your device, and videos are not transcribed. The audio is deleted after transcription. The transcripts stay until you delete the chat.
WhatsApp's transcripts or a whole-chat transcript?
| WhatsApp's transcripts | Export, then transcribe the chat | |
|---|---|---|
| How many at once | One message per tap | Every voice message and audio file in the chat |
| Where it runs | On your phone | Overview in your browser, audio sent over HTTPS |
| Languages | A set list, which depends on your phone | The language spoken in each message |
| Dates and order | With the message, inside WhatsApp | Date, time and a message number on every line |
| Cost | Free | Free overview and one transcript, then from $3 |
| Best for | The voice note you can't play right now | Years of voice notes, or a record you want to keep |
Typing them out yourself also works, for two or three short messages. Past that, it means hours of pausing and rewinding.
How to get more accurate transcripts
Speech-to-text is usually very good, but it can only be as good as the recording. These habits help with any method.
- Match the language. For WhatsApp's transcripts, set the transcript language to the one being spoken. LogMyChat transcribes each message in the language spoken, so a chat that mixes two languages needs no setting.
- Check the words that carry meaning. Names, amounts, dates and addresses are the ones to check. “Fifteen” heard as “fifty” changes a payment.
- Expect noise to cost accuracy. Wind, traffic, a TV in the background, strong accents and people talking over each other all make transcripts worse.
- Read it in context. “Yes, go ahead” means little on its own. Read the messages around it, which a whole-chat record keeps in place.
- Keep your original export. The audio is deleted once it is transcribed, but your .zip still holds every recording. Keep it so you can listen again.
Before you rely on a transcript for something important, like a payment, a promise or a dispute, play the recording again. If a voice note may matter in a disagreement, read about voice notes as evidence, and ask whoever handles your case which format they need.
Common questions
Why don't I see the Transcribe option?
Check that Voice message transcripts is on under Settings > Chats, then update WhatsApp. If the option shows but no text appears, the voice message may be in a language that isn't on the list for your phone.
Can I try a whole-chat transcript before paying?
Yes. The overview is free and needs no upload. It shows how many voice messages the chat has and the exact price. One voice message is transcribed free, and only that recording is sent.
Are video messages transcribed too?
No. Only voice messages and audio files are transcribed. Videos and photos never leave your device. The record shows where each one was sent, with its date, time and file name.
Do I need to convert the voice files to MP3 first?
No. WhatsApp saves voice messages as .opus files, and LogMyChat reads them as they are. What an .opus file is explains the format, and how to play one on a computer.